[2026. 9. 20.] People Not of This World | John 17:6–19

[2026. 9. 20.] People Not of This World | John 17:6–19

Sermon by Rev. Jinkook (Danny) Sohn (Hope of Heaven Baptist Chuch) 

 

2026. 9. 20. 주일예배 설교- 요한복음 강해 49
본문: 요한복음 17:6–19
제목: 세상에 속하지 않은 사람들

설교자: 손진국 목사 (하늘소망교회)

 

John 17 is the prayer that contains the heart of Jesus as He prepares to leave His disciples in the world. Because of this, the prayer is often called the High Priestly Prayer. Jesus first prays for Himself, then for His disciples, and finally for all who will believe in Him in the future. Today’s passage is the portion where Jesus prays for His disciples. And when we look closely, we see that Jesus’ prayer is quite different from the kind of prayer we often desire. As we live in this world, we want to live without difficulties, with problems solved, and with comfort. But Jesus does not pray for His disciples to live comfortably, nor does He pray for all their hardships to disappear. Instead, Jesus prays that His disciples would live in the world as people who belong to God.

A repeated expression in today’s passage is this: the disciples are in the world, but they do not belong to the world.

In [Verse 11] they are still in the world…

And in [Verse 14] they are not of the world…

And again in [Verse 16] they are not of the world…

Jesus does not want His disciples to leave the world. He wants them to remain in it. Today’s passage teaches us our identity and how we must live as believers in this world. Today, we will hold on to three truths.

 

1. We belong to God.

Jesus begins His prayer for the disciples with these words in [Verse 6] I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word.

Here we find a crucial statement about the disciples’ identity: they were the Father’s, and the Father entrusted them to the Son.

This is the identity of every Christian. When we talk about identity, the first question people ask is, “Who am I?” But hidden inside that question is another: “What do I have?” People often define identity by possessions. But Jesus teaches us that the more important question is: “To whom do I belong?” Identity is not about ownership but belonging.

The world constantly tries to define our identity by external things—our job, wealth, education, achievements, or the opinions of others. Some measure their worth by their children’s success. Some define themselves by past failures. Some feel valuable only when others approve of them.

But Jesus defines our identity differently: “They were yours.” Our identity is not based on what we have done, how successful we are, or how much we possess. My identity is this: I belong to God.

This is not merely a comforting religious phrase. Belonging determines direction. Whoever you belong to determines whose voice you follow and whose will you obey.

What about the disciples? Soon Jesus would be arrested, and the disciples would scatter. Their actions did not look like people who belonged to God. Yet Jesus says in [Verse 7–8] they now know that everything you have given me comes from you… they accepted them… they knew with certainty… they believed…

Jesus sees them not only as they are now, but as they will be by faith.

So even if you feel weak or inadequate today, look at yourself through faith and declare: “I belong to God.” “I belong to Christ.” “I do not live by the world’s values but by God’s Word.” “My worth does not disappear when people ignore me or misunderstand me.” “I am God’s.”

Beloved church, remember: humans were not created to exist for themselves but to belong to their Creator. May every one of you firmly hold your identity in the Lord.

[Application] What have I been using lately to measure my worth? If that thing disappears, can I still say, “I belong to God”?

 

2. We live in the world, but we are not ruled by it.

In [Verse 11] I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.

And in [Verse 15] my prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.

This is extremely important. Jesus does not pray for His disciples to escape the world. He does not ask the Father to remove them from hardship. Instead, He prays that they would be protected—kept from the power of evil while living in the world.

The word “protect” (tēreō) means to guard, preserve, keep. Jesus is not asking for the disciples to avoid all difficulties, but that they would not fall under the dominion of evil.

Christians must live in the world but not belong to the world. This is the tension of Christian living.

We are not people who become holy only after leaving the world. We Christians must be holy while living in the world—holy in our homes, holy at work, holy at school, holy in relationships.

Holiness means “set apart.” We interact with the world, but we must not be controlled by its values. We use money, but we must not be enslaved by it. We may pursue success, but success must never become more important than God. We may receive recognition, but recognition must never outweigh obedience.

Jesus does not isolate His disciples from the world. He sends them into it as God’s people.

Faith does not change with circumstances. When your identity is rooted in God, your faith remains steady even when your environment shakes.

We must live in the world—workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, relationships. The question is not whether we are in the world, but what governs us while we are in it.

If I say I believe in God but make decisions based on worldly values, I must examine myself. May every believer in our church live in the world as someone who belongs to God.

[Application] Is there an area in my life where the world’s standards influence me more than God’s will? Where must I make a clear decision to live as someone who belongs to God?

 

3. We must be made holy by the truth while living in the world.

In [Verse 17] sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

The word “sanctify” (hagiazō) means “to set apart for God,” “to dedicate for God’s purpose.”

Holiness is not avoiding the world. Holiness is living in the world for God’s purpose.

Jesus does not ask the Father to remove the disciples from the world. Instead, He sanctifies them by the truth and then sends them back into the world.

In [Verse 18] as you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

Holiness and mission are inseparable. God makes us holy not to hide us from the world, but to send us into it.

It is not enough to be holy only inside the church. Holiness must be visible in daily life: How do I live as a husband or wife? As a parent or child? Do I work with integrity? How do I speak to others? How do I treat those who struggle? Do I respond in a Christlike way even when I suffer loss?

This is real holiness.

We do not belong to the world, but we are not removed from it. We are sent into the world.

Jim Elliot, who gave his life to bring the gospel to the Waorani people of Ecuador, showed what it means to be set apart for God. A person set apart for God does not store his life in the safest place—he offers it for God’s purpose.

J. I. Packer wrote that knowing God is not mere information; it is knowledge that transforms life. True knowledge of God changes how we live.

Holiness is not running away from the world. Holiness is standing in the world as someone who belongs to God.

Your home is your mission field. Your workplace is your mission field. Your school is your mission field. Your relationships are your mission field.

You are God’s missionary in the place where He has sent you.

If we worship God on Sunday but live like the world on Monday, our faith is divided. If we speak of love at church but repeat anger and hurt at home, the gospel has not yet shaped all of life. If we praise God in worship but act dishonestly at work, we cannot say we are sanctified by the truth.

Jesus sent His disciples into the world. Today, He sends us as well. Our neighborhood is our mission field, our home is our mission field, our workplace and school are our mission fields, and our relationships are our mission fields. We must remember that we are missionaries sent to those places.

[Application] Why has God placed me where I am? What does it look like to live as God’s person in that specific place?

Beloved saints of Heaven Hope Church, as you live in the world, may you hold firmly to your identity as God’s people, be practically sanctified by the truth, and faithfully carry out the mission entrusted to you in the place where you have been sent. I bless you in the name of the Lord.

 

 

하늘소망교회(담임 손진국 목사)는 뉴질랜드 오클랜드 북부 실버데일에 세워진 한인교회로 '하나님의 마음으로 사람을 살리는 교회'입니다.

Hope of Heaven Baptist Church (Senior Pastor: Rev. Jinkook Sohn) is a Korean church established in Silverdale, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a church that saves people with the heart of God.